The Following

:

Season 2
  • Network: FOX
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 21, 2013
Season #: 3, 2, 1
Metascore
44

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 9
  3. Negative: 3 out of 9
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Critic Reviews

  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mary McNamara
    Jan 22, 2014
    70
    Here’s the best thing about the second season premiere of The Following: Kevin Bacon finally looks like he’s having a little fun.... Bacon and Hardy are in on the joke.
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Jeff Jensen
    Jan 10, 2014
    67
    The sneak peak is sometimes flat and sorta dumb yet so dementedly busy-busy-busy that it's actually creepy, twisty fun. [17 Jan 2014, p.63]
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  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Lori Rackl
    Jan 13, 2014
    63
    A whole new crop of crazies populate the sophomore season, but the murder and mayhem is laced with a been-there- done-that feel.
  5. Uncle Barky
    Reviewed by: Ed Bark
    Jan 16, 2014
    50
    This season instantly ratchets up the sadism with the aforementioned treatment of a comely corpse as a living doll. Unlike the first time around, that’s pretty much doused my interest in playing along any further.
  6. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Sonia Saraiya
    Jan 17, 2014
    42
    For a show so bent on shock value, it has to this point failed to surprise much.
  7. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Jan 15, 2014
    40
    A helpful lapse of time can’t fully right the ship or smooth over the plausibility-straining aspects of this serial-killer-and-his-adoring-acolytes conceit.
  8. RogerEbert.com
    Reviewed by: Brian Tallerico
    Feb 20, 2014
    30
    Kevin Bacon is just woefully underutilized here.... None of this show feels or sounds real. Not one beat. Not the plotting or the characters.
  9. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Chris Cabin
    Jan 16, 2014
    25
    The Following similarly takes one of the oldest genre conceits in the book, strips away all manner of personal detail, gallows humor, and the genuinely grotesque, and tries to sell what remains as horrifying instead of plainly sadistic.
  10. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Jan 17, 2014
    20
    Sorry to say that from the evidence of the season premiere, not a lot has changed. Morbid curiosity may keep me following this bloody cat-and-mouse horror show for a while longer, but not at the risk of murdering what few brain cells I have left.

Awards & Rankings

80
#80 Most Discussed TV Season of 2014

User Reviews

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User Score
5.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 94 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 94
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 94
  3. Negative: 27 out of 94
  1. silasbodnick
    Apr 22, 2014
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. The following had been one of my favorite shows during its season one run. I totally understand the whole antihero thing. Worked for breaking bad, the Sopranos. But the second to last episode of the second season entitled silence was beyond the pale. The story brought Joe Carol and his followers into a church in Manhattan. A Catholic Church. In it Carol and his followers held a priest and his parishioners hostage, and forced individuals to kill each other. Furthermore Carol forced a pastor to deny the existence of God and to proclaim the killer God. The Fox network should be wholly ashamed of themselves erring this episode at anytime much less the day after Easter. It's yet another piece of evidence that Hollywood will do whatever it takes to embarrass And belittle the Christian church as a whole. Do you think they would've had the balls to do the same scene in a mosque? No because that would have been met with consequences. Catholics don't meet this kind of disgusting behavior with violence so Hollywood keeps dishing it out. I'm going to advise everybody who asks that the following is wholly unworthy of their time. I'm curious to know what someone like Bill O'Reilly on FOXNews will have to say about this type of storyline on the Fox network.… Full Review »
  2. gethapi79
    Feb 3, 2014
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. I'm a HUGE Kevin Bacon fan and watched last season religiously. Unfortunately, they killed most of the characters I found compelling and intriguing. I've watched the first two episodes this season and just can't get into it this time around. I'm not as interested in the new characters. I'm also a woman and hated they killed off both Claire and the female detective - they could have at least left me with one strong, relatable female character. So disappointed after such high hopes.… Full Review »
  3. podaddy
    Mar 26, 2014
    0
    Hard to believe that the writers could outdo the trainwreck that was Season 1, but they're doing a stand up job. The plot is more ridiculous,Hard to believe that the writers could outdo the trainwreck that was Season 1, but they're doing a stand up job. The plot is more ridiculous, predictable and implausible and the writing continues to regress week after week. This show should come with a Surgeon General Warning about the guaranteed brain cell loss that this show delivers. Absolute garbage.… Full Review »
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